The back brick portion of the building was the original wing of Mechanical Hall, constructed in 1889. The front wood frame section was an addition from 1893-94. The addition housed the college's first gymnasium.
Harvey L. McAlister was known as "Pap Hayseed" during his student years at Oregon Agricultural College (OAC). McAlister came from Lexington, Oregon (in Morrow County) to OAC in 1893. As a freshman, he played center on the first OAC football team. McAlister attended OAC from 1893 to 1897 and earned a BS in Agriculture. After service in the Spanish-American War, he returned to Lexington where he farmed until his retirement in 1947, when he moved to the Veterans Home in Napa, California. McAlister died in California in 1955.
Leroy Garfield Mattley, from Lewisville in Polk County, Oregon, studied agriculture and mechanical engineering at Oregon Agricultural College and graduated in 1902. Mattley died on August 17, 1905.
Members of the OAC quartet: 1st tenor John Fulton; 2nd tenor Professor Berchtold; Pianist Ora Spangler; 2nd bass Harley. R. Clark; 1st bass Will H. Bloss.
Composite cyanotype photograph of Oregon Agricultural College buildings. Buildings shown starting at the top left are: Mechanical Hall, Fairbanks Hall and The Greenhouses. View of campus with Benton Hall in background. Women's Center Building (Station Building), Alpha Hall, The Farm and Benton Hall in the center of photo